His name was Jozef De Veuster, and he was the youngest of seven children. Growing up on the farm, Jozef was prepared to take over for his family, but he did not want the responsibility. Instead, he wanted to follow his older brother and two sisters who took religious vows. Jozef attended school until the age of 13 when his help was needed on the family farm full-time.
He aided his family until he was old enough to enter the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. He took the name Damien, after a sixth century martyr. In , Damien's brother who was also in the same order of religious, was ordered to Hawaii.
But his brother became ill, so Br. Damien offered to go in his place. The brothers worried that Br. Damien was too uneducated to become a priest, although he was not considered unintelligent.
Damien demonstrated his ability by quickly learning Latin from his brother. He was also devoted in prayer, Br. Damien prayed each day before an icon of Saint Francis Xavier to be sent on a mission. Damien arrived in Hawaii in March , and was ordained as a priest on the island of Hawaii two months later. For nine years, he worked on the island as a priest, leading an important, yet undistinguished life.
In , Hawaii established a leper colony on the Kalaupapa Peninsula. It was still mistakenly believed that leprosy was highly contagious. This belief resulted in the forced quarantine of leprosy patients. These people still needed spiritual and medical care, so to Fr. Damien discerned his call to serve them. In , Fr. Damien made the trip to be with these people in their colony. Upon arrival, he found the colony was poorly maintained.
Anarchy reigned among the people living there. Many patients required treatment but had nobody to care for them.
Other patients took to drinking and became severe alcoholics. Every kind of immorality and misbehavior was on display in the lawless colony. There was no law or order. Damien realized the people needed leadership, so he provided it. Damien had an older brother, Pamphile, who was a priest.
When Pamphile was assigned to the Hawaiian Islands, he became ill and was unable to go. Damien was ordained in after he completed his studies in Honolulu. After nine years in Hawaii, Father Damien offered to serve the sick people who lived there. He felt such compassion for the lepers that he asked permission to remain with the colony permanently.
Damien also appealed to the Hawaiian government for money and services to help the lepers of Molokai. Most importantly, he helped his people know that God loved and cared for them. The west front of Salisbury Cathedral has statues of the saints in niches and The statue of St. Damian in niche , can be identified as the pharmacist saint as he is holding a pestle and mortar in one hand and has the other raised as though to reproach his brother, St.
All of the statues above the doors on the west front of the cathedral face the Christ child on St. Cosmas who is positioned facing his brother. This is perhaps to emphasise their brotherhood. We can draw many parallels from their story with contemporary issues such as maintaining a free at the point of delivery NHS and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Perhaps this year, we should spare a thought to those fleeing persecution and conflict in Syria, pharmacists among them.
It is reassuring though, that almost two millennia after St. Cosmas and Damian, physicians and pharmacists continue to work together. A lesson we could learn from the brothers is that we should continue to support each other in our careers and together develop healthcare services for the benefit of our patients. Access provided by. Saint Cosmas and Damian: the patron saints of pharmacy and medicine.
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